Archives August 2014

A campaigner for compensation has discovered that the 'Agent Orange' used to spray weeds in the Kimberley was fire damaged and deemed to be more toxic than the cocktail used in the Vietnam War, with possibly up to 200 times higher dioxin than normal Agent Orange.

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So many of the First Nations women in prison have been physically abused and/or have substance-abuse problems. One of the reasons these women make up such a disproportionate part of the prison population is that magistrates are required to follow sentencing guidelines; someone who has been arrested a certain number of times for, say, being drunk in public is required by such rules to spend time behind bars. Beyond that, Professor Baldry argues, some magistrates take an inappropriately paternalistic view that time in prison will be beneficial in blocking a woman's access to substances. Read more about Doubling the female imprisonment rate due to First Nations women being locked up

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A rare and haunting image of a young, unidentified Indigenous woman has been donated to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) after being discovered by a family living in the United Kingdom.

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Canberra press gallery journalist Jeremy Geia has walked away from his job, given up his passport and belongings and reverted to his tribal name, Murrumu Walubara Yidindji. He tells Paul Daley why he decided to ‘leave Australia’ while remaining on the continent – and why he still loves a cup of English breakfast tea

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Malaysia: The High Court on 11 August declared that Iban landowners in Kpg Spaoh, Kpg Menat Ulu and Kpg Menat Illi in Gedong, Simunjan have acquired native customary rights (NCR) over land in their area which had been alienated by the government to several companies through provisional leases and issuance of forest licence.